Australians are being left in the dark when it comes to public school performance. The refusal of state governments to release any comparative school data means that the public and parents are powerless to combat bad schools and bad teachers. Australia needs a more transparent system of accountability in public education.

Parents and the general public have a right to know which schools are not performing up to scratch so that, if not, they can be pressured to improve.

The education system is responsible for consuming large amounts of taxpayers’ money, yet the public is kept in the dark about the performance of the schools to which this money goes.

At the moment, the media is the main source of information for parents and public on comparative school performance.

But the media is also hampered by the state education departments’ monopoly over education data.

A well balanced school reporting system based on a good assessment programme would make a substantial difference to our schools by leading to an improved and more open system of education.

Alison Rich is a Policy Analyst with the Taking Children Seriously research program at The Centre for Independent Studies.